>> tensions rise in the ukraine capital. the lyrical unrest continues to grip the country -- political unrest continues to grip the country. protests on the streets of thailand despite the fact that the prime minister has called for snap elections. french troops begin to disarm fighters in the central african republic, the country hit by an outburst of deadly sectarian violence. those are the headlines on "france 24." thanks for joining us. tense scenes on the streets of the ukraine capital.

riot police have been stationed hall.e of the kiev protesters are angry over the government decision to ditch a indmark pact with europe favor of closer ties with russia. they echo -- they accuse you ninkovich -- yanukovich of bowing to russian pressure. >> the tension in kiev has risen dramatically. riot police are gathering on two sides. busessee right police about 100 meters away from the front of the town. they are also coming down the hill. they have to go through the main independence square where the demonstration is still underway.

he addressed the small crowd. more people are amassing. only around 100 people are still inside, mostly men. those who said they were prepared to defend the place physically. the deadline expired after a court decision. this was expected that there might be some sort of police intervention. reportingr cragg from kiev. situation political continues. the prime minister called for snap elections but that has done protesters.lm she is accused of being under the influence of her brother, exiled former prime minister thaksin.

>> a mass resignation by opposition mp's left her no other choice. >> i would like to notify everyone, after listening to that is from all sides, have decided to request a royal decree to dissolve parliament this year in 2013. yingluck shinawatra's call for a snap election did not achieve the desired effect. the leader of the antigovernment movement am a suit up five sedan van --ment, suzette todd thaugsuban,thep said that was not enough. the country has been rocked by weeks of clashes which have left several dead and hundreds injured. the vote to thai law,

will have to be held within 60 days. >> were the first time in four decades, singapore has been hit with riots. the unrest started after a bus hit and killed a foreign worker in the neighborhood known as little india. over two dozen people have been taken into police custody. >> dozens of people turning over police cars and attacking ambulances in singapore. no one has seen this in more than 40 years. in their homes, singaporeans watched in disbelief. time inis the first my life i have seen this. >> it started when a private bus hit and killed a foreign worker. hundreds of workers rushed to the scene, throwing objects at the bus and rescue workers, setting ablaze ambulances and police cars.

authorities are asking singaporeans to share any information they have on incident. >> we take this incident very seriously. effort to resto -- arrest those who were involved. >> singaporeans debated on why the riots started. some called for tough sanctions. singapore has harsh anti-writing -- anti-rioting laws. those arrested could face up to seven years in prison. >> 1600 french troops are patrolling the capital, bangui, as well as other towns as part of the u.n. mandate to restore order. are fearful to

leave their homes. cheers of locals, some of the 1600 french soldiers deployed to the central african republic arrive in donkey -- in bangui. the residents have been living in fear of sectarian violence that has left hundreds dead. the first priority for the troops is disarming former select the rebels -0- former seleka rebels who have been terrorizing the population. >> for now, we have patrols that show we are present and strong, to show the groups that the time of impunity is over. tomorrow, all will lay down their weapons. that means if you don't lay them down, we will disarm you by force. >> the violence has not been one-sided. christian groups have responded assaults by attacking

muslim neighborhoods in the capital. on monday, the capital archbishop urged christians not to carry out killings. half a million people have been displaced. french soldiers have started moving into rural areas where much of the violence has taken place. president francois hollande says they will remain in the central african republic as long as necessary, backed up i the african union -- backed up by the african union's misca force. >> south africa's parliament is paying tribute to nelson mandela as the country prepares for the arrival of world leaders were tuesday's memorial. these are the latest in a just from parliament. some 70 heads of state are expected to attend the service a stadiumo be held in in soweto. it is expected to be one of the largest gatherings of the carries in recent history.

we have the latest on the ongoing prayers and tributes to nelson mandela. >> tributes continue to pour in for nelson mandela. south africans are still toiting places significant nelson mandela. the focal point is nelson mandela's home in soweto. grand parade in cape town, where nelson mandela made his first speech in 1990 as a free man when he walked out of the gates of the present. there will be a big rally in soweto in johannesburg. a number of dignitaries and eminent people along with about 95,000 south africans will pay tribute to their beloved leader. this afternoon, they will convene a special joint sitting of parliament to allow members of parliament and opposition parties to say farewell to the man who was south africa's first

democratically elected president. also in cape town today, people ,ill be marching to the prisons all places where nelson mandela was incarcerated. is a lot of prayer and joy and laughter and people are saying, we have to dance, we have to pray, we have to be thankful for nelson mandela, because he was the man who united us. he was the man who gave us peace and reconciliation and freedom. we've accepted his death now. now is our time to stay unified and to continue with his legacy. >> let's take a look now at some other world news in brief. u.s. defense secretary chuck hagel is in pakistan for meetings with the country cost prime minister, the talks aimed at further repairing a strained relationship -- with the country's prime minister, the talks aimed at further repairing

the strained relationship. is the drone strikes. pakistan has called the drone strikes a violation of the country's sovereignty. -- trial of senior figures from the muslim brotherhood face charges of incitement to murder over deadly clashes that erupted in cairo in july. the trials are part of a massive crackdown by authorities against the muslim brotherhood. shakeup ineen a north korea's government. the uncle of leader kim jong has been dismissed from power. pyongyang confirming the downfall of the ones second most powerful man in a state. he was sacked for mismanaging the economy, womanizing, and drug taking. they say it is one of the biggest upheavals to hit the government since the death of former leader kim jong-il. scenese -- violent

from foo -- from a football match in brazil. it will likely raise questions about the country's ability to keep fans saved their own -- safe during next year's world cup. >> players were in high spirits. minutes later, the stadium descended into chaos as supporters began charging at each other and exchanged blows. police fired rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowds. they were already punished for ago.iolence months visibly emotional -- >> it is sad. i am speechless.

ground.guy lying on the i don't know what happened. things were already difficult. and then this happened? it could be another disaster for brazilian football. the whole world will see this. >> i am alarmed by the lack of security. insidead been no police the stadium during the game as a private security company was being used. after over an hour, the match got back underway. a controversial auction of sacred objects from the native american hopi tribe is going ahead this monday in paris, despite objections from the united states and activists. .e take a closer look >> the hopi tribe called their sacred mask [indiscernible]

they are protected under u.s. law, which recognizes their importance as ceremonial objects. the tribe in arizona, 18,000 sees them as blessed by divine spirits and not for sale. 17 were sold at auction in paris in april. >> please respect our way of life, respect our religion. it makes no sense to put a monetary value on something that is so religious to a people. >> the ngo representing tribal rights, survival international, is defending the hope because -- hopi cause in france. it says such sales are shameful. >> we propose a very narrow definition of what should not be sold. not every art object belonging to primitive tribes, not all

religious objects. here, the tribe sees the masks as almost alive. they use them. they belong to the tribe collectively. >> among activists supporting the hopi cause is robert redford , who says any auction of the masks is a criminal gesture. >> rio de janeiro has held its first mass gay wedding. 100 couples said i do on sunday. some couples wore traditional attire, others jeans. they were all united in their cheer that erupted when the judge announced them married. us in the from newsroom. we will have more headlines coming up in just over 15 minutes.

>> in football, monaco have moved into second in the french league after a narrow win. monaco stays 2 points in time paris danger man -- 2 points behind paris st. germain. their lead in bundesliga. he took home his fifth of the season. the visitors doubled their lead three minutes later with this, his 7th goal of the campaign. nowes-barre -- wolfsburg up to fifth. games in theo

english premier league on sunday. villa 2-0. aston an uninspiring home draw completed a disappointing week for the league leaders. he was doing his best to help them bounce back. off five minutes before half-time for that challenge. five minutes later, another player lashed out and was himself sent off. 0-0, the final score. they had a convincing

win, munster always in control. ran half the field to make it 22-0 by halftime. 8.e irish province won by 36- the teams meet again in france next week. ted liggety produced a brilliant performance as he won race.urth giant slalom the 29-year-old is the first to do so since an italian legend in 1991. in february, he became the first man in 45 years to win three gold medals at a world championship. the defending champion showed why this discipline is his specialty with a pair of flawless runs. he has won seven of the last .ine child -- giant slaloms

bodie miller -- bode miller was a surprise second to make it an american one-two. he had not finished on the podium in the giant slalom since 2007. the overall world champion from last -- world cup champion from last season came in third. yes finished on the podium -- he has finished on the podium in 14 of his last 23 races. skiier has-- swiss been in fine form, recording a slopes.1:22:86 on the she failed to make the top five of super g standings, but is n ow -- but is now on top

overall. she was also victorious in october, on top of the events she won in beaver creek last summer. lindsey vonn showed improvement. her best position since returning from injury. dition of the european cross country championships took place in belgrade on sunday with spain's ethiopian-born [indiscernible] taking top spot, completing a course in 29:11 to claim his second individual european title after his victory in 2009. second.as great britain third.

5e 32-year-old won by seconds. portugal was third. golf, zach johnson forced a playoff in sensational circumstances at the world challenge at sherwood country club, finding water but then holing out from 65 yards. he had rallied from four shots back. the 37-year-old american would and i world number one -- would deny world number one tiger woods at the first hole. woods saw a five-foot putt lip out for bogey after finding the bunker.

>> after the amazing shows and theme parks, his latest project is the construction of an enormous ski resort. welcome to the world of kim jong-un. in a country cut off from the rest of the world with a quarter of the population starving, who are these resorts for? an investigation into the diluted -- deluded fantasies of the leader. on "france 24." "on the net." china pays tribute to nelson mandela. russia's challenge anti-gay laws ahead of the sochi olympics. and copies of some ancient bibles and biblical texts now available online.

china, along with the rest of the world, as been reacting to the death of nelson mandela -- has been reacting to the death of nelson mandela. president xi jinping remembered his years long struggle against apartheid and has urged leaders to pay homage to an old friend of china. he has been an inspiration to critics of the communist regime. he made an issue of china's human rights record. lawyer says china needs a figure like nelson mandela to lead china in its progress towards rule of law. uld be fighting segregation by privilege. we need to fight for the rights enjoyed only by the privileged class, communist party officials and their entourage. >> others say that china already

has its nelson mandela, but he is behind bars. the nobel peace prize winner was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2009 after calling for democratic reforms and greater freedoms in china. some say china needs its own frederick a clerk -- fw dick .w. de klerk. two global gay rights organizations have launched the principle six campaign. they say if russia is to host the winter olympics in february, it must abandon its anti-gay laws. activists are calling attention to the international olympic committee's mission statement.

the campaigning is gaining ground. the petition has already been signed by over 400,000 people and counting. it calls on the russian president to repeal the anti-gay legislation passed in june, a law that bans the promotion among miners of so-called nontraditional sexual relations of so-calledrs nontraditional sexual relations. a lot of athletes have already posted photos of them wearing the clothing to social networks. it is a way of encouraging sports fans the world over to join the campaign and sales profits from the clothing line will be donated to day rights organizations across russia. -- to gay rights organizations across russia. the vatican and boldly and library haved a put ancient texts online.

you can see the pages of the gutenberg bible printed in the 1500's. it is a unique treasure trove available to web users the world over. in -- what if the models in some of the world's most renowned masterpieces had smartphones? artist is adding technology to some of the world's most revered paintings. smart." american captured his latest jump on camera, a jump that went horribly wrong.

we see him crashing into a rock and sliding down that cliff face , narrowly escaping death. he did suffer several injuries, including stitches to the eye and chin.